Terrorists targeted Lahore and Karachi within a couple of hours on Tuesday creating a perception of a possible coordination. The carnage claimed 17 lives. In both cities, the police had set up several check posts on account of the Chehlum of Imam Hussain. Last years suicide attacks in the same area in Lahore one near the shrine of Sufi saint Ali Hajveri and the other outside a Shia imambaragah had led to the killing of 30 people in the first instance and 12 in the second. It goes to the credit of the police that better security arrangements this year deterred the attackers from entering the more crowded inner areas at both places.
The fact that attacks in big cities had recently become less frequent had led many to become complacent. The two incidents are grim reminders that while the terrorists might have been weakened, they continue to be a serious threat. The successful operations in Swat and South Waziristan have deprived the terrorists of safe havens where their leadership could plan their ghastly activities. They, however, still maintain their havens in North Waziristan. While the army needs to consolidate its victories in the areas where operations have been conducted, one expects it to turn its attention to the remaining safe haven at an appropriate moment.
The fight against the twin menaces of terrorism and extremist thinking, which is an existential need of Pakistan, is going to be a long and bloody struggle. The government and all the agencies under its control have to maintain an unflinching resolve as they root out terrorism. It is unfortunate that some of the opposition parties continue to be double-minded over the issue. Some, in fact, try to confuse the public by maintaining that the fault basically lies in the governments foreign policy. It is hard to find any connection between the killing of innocent people outside Sufi shrines and Shia imambargahs with any foreign policy initiative. While fighting the terrorists to the finish, it is equally important to reform the Zia era educational curricula so that there is nothing in it that creates sympathy for the terrorists.
